DNA evidence linked a 53-year-old man in Florida to the murder site, leading to his arrest.
Michael Douglas, who is accused of tying up the victim and stabbing her 38 times, was finally arrested two months after the woman’s murder, authorities said, as reported by Law & Crime on Sunday.
On September 26, while the city of North Port in Sarasota County prepared for Hurricane Ian, a complaint of a possible homicide along South Haberland Boulevard was received by police.
When police arrived, they discovered the body of a person who had been fatally stabbed. The North Port Police Department stated in a press release on Friday that upon arrival, they discovered a “gruesome scene,” with the victim bound and stabbed many times.
According to the arrest affidavit, the victim “was on the floor, lying on her back with both hands bound behind her body and her mouth taped.”
Douglas, a resident of Port Charlotte, was reportedly apprehended and charged with first-degree premeditated murder following an extensive investigation based on the video, forensic, and DNA evidence gathered at and around the crime scene.
Douglas had love feelings for the victim and had been pressuring her to leave her current relationship, which was discovered by the police.
According to the arrest document, he reportedly displayed a picture of the victim to his coworkers and urged them to admire his “beautiful wife.”
Despite his denials, Douglas’ DNA was found to match the profile of the suspect in a sexual assault kit that was performed on the victim’s body.
The man’s car was seen an hour before police arrived on the scene parked down the street from the victim’s residence in a video taken by an off-duty officer.
North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said in a press release that the success was the result of “hard work and dedication from our department” and that it would help the
victim’s family seek “some type of justice” for the horrible act.
As of Sunday, Douglas remained in police custody and was lodged at the Sarasota County Jail.
Source: International Business Times